Audio/Visual issues with Blackwell Bundle-Unplayable on Steam

[ErinAS]

So I tried to load up the Blackwell Bundle from steam and am running into both audio and video issues.  I looked through the forums and some other threads on steam and I've seen solutions.  But it seems if I fix one issue it unfixes the other. :/

The audio issue we have is no audio at all.  We were able to fix it by lowering the bit rate on our sound card but then when we got to the first dialog sequence we saw the screen was cut off and you can't read the bottom dialog choice and ditto the inventory at the top of the screen.

So googling solutions said to put it in windows compatibility mode and turn off high DPI and set it to 640x480 which fixed the video issue but then the sound stops working again.  If I turn off compatibility mode the sound works but have the resolution issue.  Is there anywhere in an ini file or something I can change the resolution without compatibility mode? 

[DaveGilbert]

Hm! Have you tried changing it from Direct3D mode to DirectDraw mode (or vice versa?) You can access the game's settings by right clicking on the game in your steam library, selecting "properties", then "set launch options." Type "--setup" and press OK. When you launch the game again, the settings window will appear.

[ErinAS]

Yeah we tried both options there and probably a few other options on that menu.  Could finally get it to run not full screen but our monitor is a TV so then its too small to read really :/

[DaveGilbert]

Oh, it's a TV? Hm. The game was made using the AGS (Adventure Game Studio) engine, and sadly AGS games tend to run a bit funny on non-standard monitors. You could try asking this question on the AGS technical forum (link here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?board=2.0) - they know more much more about the inner workings of the engine than I do and would be much better qualified to help you. If they do find a solution, definitely let us know so we can help others in the future! So sorry about this.

[ErinAS]

Looks like they weren't very helpful to others with the same issue
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=43145.msg573442#msg573442

Any ideas on the sound where I can get the video to work if I force 640x480 mode?

We were able to play Blackwell Deception and Resonance as long as I do the audio downgrade.  Didn't have any issues with the video at all.  Is that in a newer version of AGS?

[DaveGilbert]

Deception was made with a later version of AGS, but I later went back and recompiled the previous versions in the new version of the engine! If you're playing from Steam, than you are playing the current versions. This is indeed a mystery!

The only difference between Deception and the others is that Deception was designed to run in 640 x 480 natively, while the previous three were designed for 320 x 240 and scaled up using a nearest neighbor filter.

[ErinAS]

Strange!  Makes sense that it has more video issues but no idea why one kills the sound and the other doesn't.  I have it up an running to play on a different PC with a normal monitor now.  Thanks for the help troubleshooting